Across nearly all race/ethnicity groups, transgender high school students report fewer school supports, lower safety, lower motivation, and lower connectedness than non-transgender peers¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · checked against its sources 2026-10-16 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2026: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Transgender students in nearly all race/ethnicity groups were markedly less likely than non-transgender peers to report key school supports, feeling safe, academic motivation, school connectedness, and positive academic outcomes. → Cerna 2021

Evidence¶

Cerna 2021¶

Cerna, R., Stern, A., Austin, G., Betz, J., Zhang, G., & Hashmi, S. (2021). Understanding the experiences of LGBTQ high school students in California by race/ethnicity. WestEd. https://www.wested.org/resources/lgbtq-students-in-california/

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Descriptive analysis of pooled 2017–19 California Healthy Kids Survey responses from 559,120 California 9th- and 11th-graders, disaggregated by gender identity and race/ethnicity (Table 5). The report states transgender students were "markedly less likely than their non-transgender peers" to report these supports and outcomes; only percentages are reported, no effect sizes.

"Across nearly all of the race and ethnicity groups, transgender students were markedly less likely than their non-transgender peers to indicate the presence of key school supports, feeling safe at school, academic motivation, school connectedness, and positive academic outcomes."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Belonging — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Identity — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Transgender, gay/lesbian, bisexual, and 'something else' students report significantly poorer outcomes than non-transgender and straight peers on all 14 measures — a broader claim this one bears on
• Adjusting for perceived school supports and safety eliminates the transgender/non-transgender school connectedness gap and halves mental health, motivation, and middle school performance gaps — related
• Transgender students in every race/ethnicity group report harassment at least twice the rate of non-transgender peers (60%+ vs. 32% or less) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Transgender students report substantially fewer school supports than non-transgender peers, especially caring adult relationships and high expectations — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Disparities are not uniform: some gender- and sexual-minority groups report equal or better school experiences than majority peers (e.g., Black transgender students, Cambodian gay/lesbian students) — reports the opposite
• Transgender students across all race/ethnicity groups report suicide ideation at 45–57%, versus no more than 20% of non-transgender students — related
• Transgender students are more than twice as likely as non-transgender peers to report bullying, harassment, and fear of physical violence — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Bisexual students in every race/ethnicity group report chronic sadness at more than twice the rate of straight students — related
• After school-wide positive and restorative discipline training, Black-White and LGBTQ-straight differences in perceived bullying converged at one majority-minority school — related
• Equalizing perceived supports and safety would reduce gay/lesbian/bisexual versus straight disparities in connectedness by 90-100 percent and other disparities by half — related
• Youth-led action research found that many California high school students did not feel cared for by adults at school — related
• Individual-difference themes (academic motivation, emotional stability, gender, race and ethnicity) are associated with school belonging — related
• Qualitative research shows resource fit—safety and financial resources—shapes marginalized students' sense of belonging — related
• The percentage of secondary students reporting high school connectedness on the CHKS increased from 32 percent to 36 percent — related